“When Fall Is Coming” review: François Ozon creates a darkly funny French drama that is worth enjoying

A retired woman of a certain age (Hélène Vincent) who wants nothing more than to look after her perfect grandson (Garlan Erlos) is devastated when her daughter (Ludivine Sagnier) refuses access to him, and all because of a silly matter of mycological errors in the delicious, eerie and deadly funny When Fall Is Coming. True to the varied form, writer-director François Ozon (Swimming Pool, 8 Women) offers a tonal turn toward naturalism and away from the crazy energy of his last feature, the historical courtroom caper “The Crime Is Mine,” with this darkly comic thriller.

Nonetheless, this film features a number of ozonic elements that followers of the prolific French auteur will appreciate: intentional plot holes that keep things spicy and ambiguous; Characters who seem boringly bourgeois but hide secret pasts or inclinations or both; a little touch of the supernatural; and an irony in all its forms that runs through everything. Hardcore…